Jordan Kent: Why I’m not voting for Caroline Mulroney

Before I get into this post, I want to say that while I respect both former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and his daughter Caroline, I have grave concerns with Caroline’s candidacy for reasons that I will lay out below.

Last night, Caroline Mulroney, the daughter of former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney announced her intent to run for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario.

She is running in the upcoming election for the Riding of York-Simcoe.

While I am sure, there are many reasons that Conservatives will use to justify their support for Ms Mulroney. I wish to explain why, if she is elected as Leader of the PC Party I will not be able to vote for the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario in the upcoming provincial election on June 7th, 2018.

First, there is her lack of political experience. While Ms Mulroney was successful in her legal and business career, her lack of political knowledge makes her a less attractive choice.

We haven’t seen enough from her to determine whether or not she would be able to hold her own against seasoned politicians like Ontario Liberal Leader and Premier Kathleen Wynne, or NDP Leader Andrea Horwath in the Leaders Debates or even on the campaign trail.

Premier Wynne especially is a fierce competitor who has always done well as the underdog. In case people have forgotten, Premier Wynne snatched a majority government from the jaws of defeat in 2014.

There is also the issue that Ms Mulroney’s campaign was media driven.

From the moment Patrick Brown resigned in what has since been described by some as an inside job by his advisors, the media put in place a well-scripted plan to have Caroline Mulroney installed as Leader of the PC Party.

Her name was in the mouths of every single political commentator and reporter in the province. People want to elect another dynasty to Canadian politics, all the while forgetting the consequences of electing Justin Trudeau as our Prime Minister have caused us.

It is politically opportunistic for Ms Mulroney to seek the leadership of the PC Party when she has no experience running a political party, let alone a province.

While I think she would make a good Premier someday down the road that time is not now. We cannot afford to elect a political dynasty in the hopes that it hands the PC Party the keys to the Premier’s office.

Second of all, Caroline decided to seek the PC Party Nomination and signed on to the disastrous “People’s Guarantee” which was implemented without a policy convention or a proper consultation with the grassroots members.

The party plan included policies that were imposed by Patrick Brown on the grassroots, such as the party’s support for a carbon tax.

Ms Mulroney has yet to promise to do away with it, and until she does, I know of many Conservatives who will not be supporting her.

We need a Leader in the mould of great Conservative Leaders like Brad Wall, Stephen Harper, and Ralph Klein.

Someone who is willing to stand up for Ontario and someone who isn’t going to let her family friendship with Justin Trudeau get in the way of standing up to Trudeau on issues like the carbon tax, health care, and infrastructure funding.

Third, there is the issue that her father is a long-time friend of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

In fact, one week before he was elected as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada he said that: “I’ve known Justin since he was a child. What’s not to like?”

This should be enough for any Conservative to get off the Mulroney Train and commit to working to stop Ms Mulroney from becoming the Leader of the PC Party.

There is also the fact that her father is working for Prime Minister Trudeau as an advisor on the NAFTA renegotiation.

A deal which Mr Mulroney implemented when he was Prime Minister, which makes Ms Mulroney’s position challenging in that she cannot step on the toes of Justin Trudeau, nor can she attack him to the degree that Conservatives like myself expect from our Leaders.

Justin Trudeau’s incompetent leadership style is almost destroying what was once a great country, and it will take decades to restore our nations former greatness.

I cannot support someone who is willing to work with Justin Trudeau when it means that their stance on certain issues will be geared towards tiptoeing around the Liberals and not entirely opposing their reckless and at times dangerous policies that do not benefit Ontarian’s or Canadians.

Fourth, there is the issue that the last time we had a Mulroney at the helm of a political party; they virtually destroyed the party, albeit it was federally and not provincially.

When Brian Mulroney resigned as Prime Minister, the decisions that his government made led to Canada suffering its worst recession since the Second World War.

We had the highest unemployment levels since the Great Depression, high and persistent deficits, we faced the introduction of the much-hated Goods and Services Tax (GST), and extensive government corruption and mismanagement.

We also saw the failures on the Meech Lake and the Charlottetown Accords, and the alienation of the west, all of which led to the collapse and virtual elimination of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.

With his successor Kim Cambell going from a massive majority to only two seats in the following election.

While I do not believe that all responsibility lies with Mr Mulroney, it did take the Conservative Party over thirteen years to re-build and to win their first government after his resignation.

Fifth, there is the issue that Patrick Brown’s campaign team is leading her campaign for Leader.

This polluted leadership team means that if she becomes the Leader, there will be no changes made to the party platform, and things will stay the same.

The ousting of Patrick Brown offers the provincial PC Party an excellent opportunity to hit the reset button and to lose some of the ridiculous and borderline socialist policies that Patrick Brown forced on the party grassroots.

Finally, after the divisive leadership of Patrick Brown and the alienation of Social Conservatives as well as Libertarians, it is time for the party to elect an experienced, talented, and dynamic Leader with political experience. A leader who can unite the Conservative family under the Big Blue Tent, and get the party back to its Conservative roots.

I am convinced that Caroline Mulroney is what the party does not need at this time. She represents what is wrong with Conservatism as sold to Ontarian’s in the People’s Guarantee.

People want authentic, fiscally Conservative solutions to the issues that we face as a Province.

If the voters had to choose between the Ontario Liberal Party and a Liberal-Lite version in the form of the PC Party, they would vote for the Liberals which would lead to the catastrophic and devastating fifth consecutive election loss for the Progressive Conservatives.

If the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario wants to win the upcoming election, they would be well served to choose Christine Elliott or Doug Ford and to not give in to the media’s mad craving for another political dynasty that could prove to provide more damage to Ontario than it has already sustained.